Fuel distributing means



Nov. 17, 1942. MARq-m FUEL DISTRIBUTIfiG MEANS Filed S ept. 25, 1940.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR' time: Alan-0v Ffm L 'd rWwlaw ATTORNEY.

Nov. 17, 1942 E'MARTIN 2,302,452

FUEL "DISTRIBUTING mmus Filed Sept. 25, 1940 INVENTOR. fi/aav: Mfr/1v ATTORNEY;

latentecl Nov. 17, 1942 UNITED STATES PATEN1 OFFICE 2302.452 FUEL DISTRIBUTING MEAN Eugene Martin, Erie, Pa., assignor to The Standard Stoker Company, Incorporated, a corporation of Delaware Application September 25, 1940, Serial No. 358,269

11 Claims. (Cl. 110-105.6)

This invention relates to stokers and particution through a locomotive firebox showing the larly to a stoker of the type in which the fuel invention partly in similar section and partly discharge conduit extends upwardly through the in elevation;

central portion of the firebox grate and in which Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 22 of the fuel is projected in aerial paths over all parts Fig. I;

of the fuel bed. Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 33 of An object of the invention is to provide a Fig. 2; and

stoker of this type in which the fuel is positively Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken conveyed from a source of supply to a point of on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

distribution above the firebox grates and cen- The invention has been illustrated and will be trally of the firebox. described as applied to the firebox of a loco- Another object of the invention is to provide motive to which it is particularly adaptable, it

a novel fuel projecting and distributing means is apparent, however, that the invention may be for a stoker of the above type, that is simple used to advantage in other fireboxes,

in construction, efficient inoperation, requires On the drawings, the letter L indicates a locoa minimumof mechanism and takes up a minimotive which includes the boiler I0 and firebox mum of space. I I. The boiler II] has a hollow back wall I2,

More specifically, an object of the invention is a hollow front wall I3 and hollow side walls (not to provide a novel combined fuel elevating conshown), which together with the grates l4 deveyor screw and fuel distributing jet member. fine the firebox II. The hollow back wall I2 is The firebox of a locomotive in horizontal cross provided with the conventional firing opening I5 section just above the grate is substantially recand the power operated firedoor I6 forms a clotangular in shape and is longer than it is Wide. sure therefor.

With the fuel projecting means disposed central- The boiler II] is supported in any suitable manly of the firebox, it is apparent that a greater ner on the locomotive underframe H. The grates force is required to project fuel to the extreme I4 of the locomotive firebox are, in the present side central portions thereof; and a greater construction, arranged in three rows extending force is required to project fuel to the four exlongitudinally and spaced transversely of the treme corner portions of the firebed than to the firebox. The outer ends of the center row of front and rear central portions thereof. It is, grates I4 are supported in bearer bars, suchas therefore, another object of the invention to I8, which also serve to support the inner ends incorporate with a stokerof the above type, a of the side grate sections I4. The outer ends of fuel projecting means for distributing fuel sucthe side grate sections are'supported in a well cessively to all parts of the firebed and means known manner (not shown) along the lower side automatically controlling the force with which portions of the mud ring I9, which supports the the fuel is projected to the various parts of the firebox II. An ash pan 20 is disposed beneath firebed in accordance with the distance from the the grates I4 and is arranged so that its outprojecting means to the various parts of the firelets 2| and 22 pass through the locomotive unbed. derframe N.

More specifically, it is an object of the inven- 40 Extending rearwardly and upwardly from the tion to provide in a stoker delivering fuel to a lower portion of the hollow front wall I3 to the point above the firebed and centrally of the fireupper portion of the hollow back wall I2 are a box, a pressure fluid jet head rotatable about plurality of water circulating transversely spaced a vertical axis, arranged to emit a blast of fluid tubes 23 arranged to support a refractory brick under pressure for successively projecting fuel arch 24. The arch 24 at it lower forward end to all parts of the firebed, and means for autois sealed against the front wall I3 while at its matically varying the intensity of said blast as upper rearward end terminates short of the back the jet head rotates. wall l2 to provide an'opening 25 which extends These and other objects of the invention, realong the rear portion of the back wall I2,

siding in the construction, arrangement and comthrough which opening products of combustion bination of the various parts of the apparatus, pass on their way to the fiues 26 and the lowwill become apparent from the following descripmotive stack. Drafting of the firebox isaccomtion when read in connection with the accomplished in known manner consisting in producpanying drawings, in which ing a sub-atmospheric pressure within the fire- Fig, 1 is a central, vertical, longitudinal secbox II to cause air to be drawn into the firebox through the ash pan 29 and thence through and between the grates l4.

The stcker for feeding coal from the tender (not shown) is indicated generally by the letter S and includes a tubular horizontally disposed conduit 21 extending along the longitudinal center line of the locomotive beneath the locomotive cab deck 28, mud ring I9 and grates l4. The stoker also includes a vertical tubular conduit 29, disposed substantially midway between the hollow front wall l3 and hollow back wall l2, and between the grate bearer bars IS. The conduit 29 comprises the tubular conduit portion 36 of a cast member 36 and a cylindrical casing 3| received in a seat 32 formed in the upper end of the tubular conduit portion 36. The conduit 29 extends above and below the grates l4, communicating, through the lateral opening 33 in the tubular conduit portion 39, with the forward end of the horizontal conduit 21.

The cast member 36 is rigidly supported on the locomotive underframe H in any suitable manner, as by the brackets 4| and 42. The tubular conduit portion 36 is provided with a spherical split flange 34 embracing the opening 33, the flange 34 being arranged to receive the spherical sleeve 35, in which sleeve is slidably mounted the forward end of the conduit 21. The whole forms a ball joint providing for universal and longitudinal movement between the conduits 2'! and 29.

The lower portion of the cast member 36, beneath the tubular conduit portion 36, is formed to provide a gear housing 31. At its lower end, the gear housing 31 is open, and a removable cover 38, suitably secured to the housing 31, forms a closure therefor. A hollow vertical shaft 43 extends through the gear housing 31 into the lower end of the tubular conduit portion 39, and is mounted for rotation in roller bearings 39 and 46 in the cover 38 and gear housing 31, respectively.

A screw conveyor 44 is disposed in the vertical tubular conduit 29 and is rigidly secured to the upper end of the vertical shaft 43 by means of the threaded bolts 45 passing through the abutting flanges 45 and 41 of the screw conveyor 44 and vertical shaft 43, respectively. A screw conveyor 48, disposed in the conduit 21, carries the fuel forwardly from the tender to the base of the vertical screw conveyor 44.

The screw conveyors 44 and 48 are both operated by the two cylinder reciprocating steam engine 49, though obviously any other suitable I means may be employed. The screw conveyor 48 is driven from its rearward end through suitable shafting and reduction gearing (not shown) in a manner well known to those versed in the art.

the vertical shaft 43, the gear 59 meshing with worm and the worm 5| being operatively connected with the engine 49 by a drive shaft 52.

The cylindrical casing 3| of the tubular conduit 29 is provided at its upper end with an annular flange 53 upon which is seated the firing table 54, the upper surface of which is flat and substantially in a horizontal plane. Protective grates 55 extend between the firing table 54 and the grates l4 and embrace the cylindrical casing 3|, protecting the latter from the heat of the firebox.

The conveyor screw 44 is provided with a hub endwise at its lower end with the passage 58 of the hollow shaft 43. At the upper end of the screw flight of the screw conveyor 44 there is formed a vertically extending jet head 59 projecting radially from the hub 56. The jet head 59 is provided with a chamber 60 communicating with the passage 51 and a plurality of horizontally alined jet apertures 6| in the vertical face 62 of the jet head communicating with the chamber 60.

The passage 58 of the hollow shaft 43 communicates at its lower end with a pressure fluid supply line 63. The supply line 63 leads from a suitable source of fluid under pressure, preferably steam, and a valve (not shown) in the supply line can be adjusted to deliver the steam at a predetermined pressure. The fluid under pressure thus passes from the supply line 63 through the passage 58, thence through the passage 51 in the hub 56 of the vertical screw 44 into the chamber 60, from which chamber the fluid is emitted under pressure through the jet apertures 6|. The pressure fluid emitted from the jet apertures 6| projects the fuel elevated by the vertical screw 44 across the table 54 successively to all parts of the firebox The firebox of a locomotive is generally rectangular in shape and is greater in length than The mechanism for driving the vertical 7 screw conveyor includes, a gear 56 secured on 56 having a passage 51 therein communicating in width. All points on the perimeter of the firebox are therefore not equidistant from the central point of projection of the fuel. Provision has been made for automatically varying the pressure of the fluid in accordance with the distance the fuel is desired to be projected. The extreme front and rear central areas of the firebox are farther removed from the jet head 59 than the extreme lateral central areas and therefore greater fluid pressure is required to project the fuel to the extreme front and rear central areas than to the extreme lateral central areas. Similarly greater pressure is required to project the fuel to the four corner portions of the firebox, since these are still farther removed from the jet head 59.

In order to provide for the increased fluid pressure, a booster supply line 64 communicates with the normal supply lin 63. A valve 65 is interposed in the booster supply line 64 and is provided with a restricted passage 66. The extent of the opening in the passage 66 is controlled by a valve member 61, the stem 68 of which projects into the gear housing 31. The end of the stem 68 within the housing 31 is provided with a stud or crosshead 69 and a compressed spring 10 around the stem 68 between the crosshead 69 and the inner wall of the gear housing 31 normally moves the valve member 61 away from the passage 66. The gear 50 is provided on its under side with a cam 7| arranged to engage the roller 12 which is carried by the crosshead 69. Thus, as the cam rotates, the valve member is moved in and out of the passage 66 whereby varying amounts of fluid is permitted to pass therethrough into the supply line 63 to vary the pressure of the fluid delivered to the jet head 59.

The shape of the cam H is such that the passage 66 will be fully open when the jet apertures 6| are directed to the four corner portions of the firebox; partly open when the jet apertures 6| are directed toward the lateral central portions of the firebox. It will be seen fromthe above that the pressure of the blast is automatically varied in accordance with the distance that the fuel has to be projected to reach the various portions of the perimeter of the firebox.

I claim:

1. In a firebox having a grate, the combination of a fuel discharge conduit extending upwardly through the central portion and above the level of said grate into the firebox, a screw conveyor in said conduit for urging fuel therethrough to the firebox, said screw conveyor having a hollow hub in communication with a source of fluid under pressure, a chambered jet head at the delivery end of said discharge conduit communicating with said hollow hub of said screw conveyor, said chambered jet head being provided with jet openings for the emission of fluid under pressure for projecting over the firebox grate all the fuel delivered by said screw conveyor, and means for rotating said screw conveyor and jet head.

2. In a firebox having a grate, the combination of a fuel discharge conduit extending upwardly through the central portion and above the level of said grate into the firebox, a screw conveyor in said conduit for urging fuel therethrough to the firebox, said screw conveyor having a hollow hub, means for rotating said screw conveyor including a hollow shaft in endwise relation with said screw conveyor providing a continuous passage through said shaft and hub, a chambered jet head at the delivery end of said discharge conduit communicating with said hollow hub of said screw conveyor, said hollow shaft being in communication with a source of fluid under pressure, and said chambered jet head being provided with jet openings for the emission of fluid under pressure for projecting over the firebox grate all the fuel delivered by said screw conveyor.

3. In a firebox having a grate, the combination of a conduit leading from a source of fuel and communicating with said firebox, a screw conveyor in said conduit for conveying fuel to the firebox, said screw conveyor having a hollow hub in communication with a source of fluid under pressure, a chambered jet head at the delivery end of said screw conveyor communicating with said hollow hub, said chambered jet head being provided with jet openings for the emission of fluid under pressure for projecting the fuel delivered by said screw conveyor over the firebox grate, means for rotating said screw conveyor and jet head, and means for automatically increasing and decreasing the pressure of said fluid v in direct proportion as the axial distance from said jet openings to the marginal edge of said grate increases and decreases during rotation of said screw conveyor.

4. In a firebox having a grate, the combination of a fuel discharge conduit extending upwardly through said grate into the firebox, said screw conveyor having a hollow hub in communication with a source of fluid under pressure, a chambered jet head at the delivery end of said screw conveyor communicating with said hollow hub, said chambered jet head being provided with jet openings for the emission of fluid under pressure for projecting the fuel delivered by said screw conveyor over the firebox grate, means for rotating said screw conveyor and jet head, and means for automaticall increasing and decreasing the pressure of said fluid in direct proportion as the axial distance from said jet openings to the marginal edge of said grate increases and decreases during rotation of said screw conveyor.

5. In a firebox having a grate, the combination of a fuel discharge conduit extending upwardly firebox, said screw conveyor having a hollow hub in communication with a source of fluid under pressure, a chambered jet head at the delivery end of said screw conveyor communicating with said hollow hub, said chambered jet head being provided with jet openings for the emission of fluid under pressure for projecting the fuel delivered by said screw conveyor over the firebox grate, means for rotating said screw conveyor and jet head, and means for automatically increasing and decreasing the pressure of said fluid in direct proportion as the .axial distance from said jet openings to the marginal edge of said grate increases and decreases during rotation of said screw conveyor.

6. In a firebox having a grate, the combination of a fuel discharge conduit extending upwardly through said grate into the firebox, a screw conveyor in said conduit for conveying fuel to the firebox, said screw conveyor having a hollow hub, means for rotating said screw conveyor including a hollow shaft in endwise relation with said screw conveyor providing a continuous passage through said shaft and hub, a chambered jet head formed with the delivery end of said screw conveyor and communicating with said hollow hub, said chambered jet head being provided with jet openings, a pressure fluid supply line communicating with said passage supplying fluid under pressure to said jet head for emission from said jet openings for projecting the fuel delivered by said screw conveyor over the firebox grate, a booster presthrough the central portion of said grate into the sure fluid supply line communicating with said first named supply line, a valve in said booster line, and a cam mounted to rotate with said hollow shaft, said valve being responsive to said cam for varying the amount of fluid under pressure delivered from said booster line to said first named supply line.

'7. In a firebox having a grate, the combination of a fuel discharge conduit extending upwardly through said grate into the firebox, a screw conveyor in said conduit for conveying fuel to the firebox, said screw conveyor having a hollow hub, means for rotating said screw conveyor including a hollow shaft in endwise relation with said screw conveyor providing a continuous passage through said shaft and hub, a chambered jet head formed with the delivery end of said screw conveyor and communicating with said hollow hub, said chambered jet head being provided with jet openings, a pressure fluid supply line communicating with said passage supplying fluid under pressure to said jet head for emission from said jet openings for projecting the fuel delivered by said screw conveyor over the firebox grate, a

booster pressure fluid supply line communicatingwith said first named supply line, a valve in said booster line, and a cam mounted to rotate with said hollow shaft, said valve being responsive to said cam for varying the amount of fluid under pressure delivered from said booster line to said first named supply line, said cam being configured to increase and decrease the pressure of the fluid in said first named supply line in direct proportion as the axial distance from said jet openings to the marginal edge of said grate increases and decreases during rotation of said screw conveyor.

8. As an article of manufacture a screw conveyor having a hollow hub and a chambered jet head at the delivery end of said screw conveyor communicating with said hollow hub, said jet head extending radially from said hub and forming a continuation of said screw flight, said jet head being provided with jet openings.

9. As an article of manufacture aiscrew conveyor having a hollow hub and a chambered jet head at the delivery end of said screw conveyor communicating with said hollow hub, said jet head extending radially from said hub and forming a continuation of said screw flight, said jet head being provided with jet openings, the axes of said jet openings being substantially at right angles with respect to the axis of said hollow hub. v

10. As an article of manufacture a screw conveyor having a hollow hub and a chambered jet head at the delivery end of said screw conveyor communicating with said hollow hub, said jet head extending radially from said hub and having a face lying in a plane substantially-parallel with the axis of said hollow hub, said face being provided with a plurality of jet openings.

1 1. In combination with a firebox having a grate, a stoker fuel discharge conduit extending upwardly through the central portion of said grate and terminating in said firebox above the level of said grate, a screw conveyor in said discharge conduit for conveying fuel therethrough and fuel distributing means at the upper end of said discharge conduit arranged to rotate with said screw conveyor for projecting fuel radially over all parts of said grate.

EUGENE MARTIN. 

